playing with knives
by little blueness
Summary: Katara and the gang already have alot of problems and reponsibilites to deal with, but she finds that her biggest problem comes in the form of a certain banished prince who decides to tag along...


**This is one shot; since I'm hopeless at doing regular updates- yes, because I'm extremely lazy- there is no cure. And as you can tell I can't spell anything even if my life depended on it- Sorry about that. Hopefully you can sift through the mistakes and read it. Hope you like it- and as always please review? Pvweety please, with the cherry on top?**

It was late, and almost time for the exhausted teens to slip in to their sleeping bags and go to sleep. They would have already been asleep by now, where it not for the constant and extremely loud arguments that kept breaking out.

"My name is KATARA! Not Peasant! YOU STUPID AROGANT POMPOUS PRINCE!"

"HOW DARE YOU? DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU'RE TALKING TO?"

"YES! ZUKO, THE PRINCE OF STUPID!"

"Could you two please give it a rest? I am trying to go to sleep here!" interrupted Sokka, who had had enough of the pointless and deafening arguments. He rolled over on his side to see his bright red sister standing over an equally annoyed fire-bending Prince. She glanced at her agitated brother and growled in frustration.

"Fine!" she announced, and then collapsed heavily on her sleeping bag. She momentary looked at the newest member of their group and saw him roll on to his side, deliberately _facing away_ from _her_. Aang heard the infuriated water bender growl in a very un-lady like way and then silence finally loomed over the campsite.

Toph however, did not seem at all fazed by all the yelling that had started ever since Zuko had joined their little band; in fact she considered it quite good entertainment. Often placing bets with Zuko's uncle on who would win next. She had her money on Katara, having already witnessed the fury of the water bender. Though, Zuko proved to be an equally good rival for Katara.

For what seemed like hours to Zuko, he tossed and turned trying to get in to a comfortable sleeping position. But he was just to fired-up to sleep now. He abruptly sat up ad looked around the campsite. The kid avatar lay sleeping next to the huge flying beast and the blind earth bender was slumbering away with the lemur comfortable dozing on her stomach next to him. Katara's idiot brother was tucked deep in his sleeping bag, snoring very loudly along with uncle Iroh. Immediately his eyes found the source of his annoyance, her back turned towards him, falling and rising in the motion of sleep. Eventually he conceded that he wasn't going to get much sleep tonight, so he went to a clearing a safe distance away from the main campsite, with his broadswords in hand.

Katara was pulled out of her weak sleep to the sound of slicing metal. She opened her big blue eyes and scanned her surroundings for the source. Zuko's sleeping place was empty and disturbed. The fire still burned, swaying in the gentle breeze. She heard the sound again, the distinct grinding of metal against metal. It didn't sound to be too far way. Getting up, she readied her water skin at her hip and crossed the campsite. As she weaved through the bushes, the sound got louder, but now she could hear a soft grunting accompanied with it. She reached a leafy bush and looked through its gaps to find what she was looking for. Just as she expected, it was that _Zuko_. She watched the display for a while. Inside she agreed that Zuko was quite good with swords.

Zuko was oblivious to the water bender's presence as he went through a more complicated routine with the blades. The blades sang in the night, gleaming when the moonlight collided with the razor edges. He swiped them through the space in front of him sending his invisible enemy to the ground. Again, he repeated the move; again and again he slit the air, spiralling the swords with precision and power, but never satisfied, it was never good enough.

Katara watched, locked in an entrancement. He wasn't _just good_ with those swords he was amazingly skilled. He seemed to wield them with such effortless accuracy, it made the whole thing, in Katara's eyes, look like a deadly dance. The swords gleamed like the silver of the moon, as if absorbing power from it like she did with water bending. It was hard to take her eyes off of him. Each step, and attack perfectly timed and measured. The moonlight made his eyes gleam too, with fierce determination as the routine sped up. He drove the weapons faster and faster, each blow becoming stronger and harder. Suddenly the magnificent blades fell to the ground in a clatter and its master hissed in pain.

Zuko clutched his bleeding forearm trying in vain to block out the pain. A dark skinned hand appeared and wrapped around the self-inflicted wound. He flinched back from the contact, but not deliberately. The hand came out again, a little harsher this time, and pushed Zuko to the ground to sit still. It was the water bender, Katara. She eyed the cut with determination in her crystalline eyes as she uncorked the water in her water skin.

"Sit still." She said softly. Zuko obliged and held out his arm. She bended the water over her hand, and covered the cut with her palm. Suddenly, Zuko realised that the pain had evaporated. She lifted her hand to reveal nothing but a tear on his clothes.

"How…?"He begun, speechless.

"Water bender. Remember?" she answered swiftly.

"Oh." He mouthed. She smiled at him and he smiled back in a silent thank you.

"How come your still awake?" he asked quietly to break the silence.

"I guess I couldn't sleep," she said easily. Zuko looked down at where he had accidentally cut him self with the broad swords. He examined his unmarked skin.

"You should be more careful. You work yourself too hard." He looked up to meet the concerned eyes of his healer. Then sighed deeply as his eyes fell.

"Its not hard enough though. I still wont be good enough." Now Katara was confused.

"Good enough for who?" she wondered.

"My father, my country, my uncle…"

"Zuko, you don't have to prove yourself to them. And your uncle, He already is proud of you. You don't need to prove yourself to anyone. We already know."

He studied her face, in her expression he saw her belief in him, her belief in what she was saying.

"But you hate me. Remember?" He tried to joke. She smiled again.

" I don't hate you. But I don't exactly like you either." He raised his only eyebrow in amusement at her.

"We just clash. Its like fire and water. We're opposites. That's why we don't get on." Concluded Katara. She furrowed her own eyebrows and thought about it. _It seemed to make sense_, now that she thought about it.

"Well…that makes sense." The fire prince contemplated out aloud. He looked past her and focused on what Katara had said to him. Katara swiftly stud up and picked up the abandoned broad swords, which immediately got Zuko's attention again. He stud up too, whilst she held the blades together in front of her like a single sword, looking up and down the glistening metal's length.

"What are you doing?" he said a little too forcefully as he slowly approached her. Katara ignored his tone and examined the swords again with wonder in her shiny blue eyes.

" I was wondering if you could teach me." she asked, as if asking permission of the broadswords instead of Zuko. Katara imagined weaving them around like the way Zuko had been doing, entranced by the movements.

"Why? Aren't you a water-bending master?"

"Yes. But theirs not always water around for me to bend. Plus, it'll give us a chance to _bond._" She said with mischievousness in her voice. Zuko smiled this time, imagining how fun it will be to boss around the easily irritated bender. _Oh how he loved to annoy her. _

"Fine. But you have to do everything I say. And that means_ everything._" She looked around the joined swords at him and shrugged.

"Fine." So he circled her and curled his thick arms around her body, firmly placing his hand over hers on the sword handles.

"Then you hold them like this." He said softly as he corrected her form. She nodded slightly, concentrating on her stance, determined to get it right.

"Remember…" he whispered close to her ear. " they are part of the same sword, not separate. But one." Zuko whispered again, guiding her arms through the air demonstrating a simple move.

"Like this?" she exclaimed excitedly, whipping the blades around almost chopping off Zuko's head. He ducked and fell to the ground with a loud thud.

"Are you_ crazy_!" he gasped glaring angrily at her.

"Sorry!" she apologized hesitantly. " I got a little carried away! Just, show me again and I promise I'll get it right next time!"

"No way! You could have killed me!" began Zuko; head still intact, pushing himself of the bare floor.

"Ok, _now_ you're exaggerating." Argued the water girl with the broad swords lazily falling to her sides. Zuko attentively approached her and quickly snatched the weapons out of her hands.

"Hey!" Katara complained, as he slipped the blades back in to the sheath, striding out of the clearing without looking back.

"Hey! Zuko! Where are you going? You said you were going to teach me!" she yelled at his furthering figure.

" I changed my mind!" he responded irately, not slowing down his pace.

"Oh! Come on! I said I was sorry!" she called at his back, starting to follow him.

"I'm going to bed." He stated firmly, having had enough of this conversation. He thrust aside a green branch obstructing his path with a little more aggression then was needed. He could hear _that water girl_ running up behind him, but he wouldn't concede, determined not to let her catch up.

"I didn't even touch you! Stop being such a big baby!" she was catching up to him now. Just as determined to do exactly the opposite of Zuko's aim. The fire bender ignored her comment, not about to give in and continued pushing his way through the thick vegetation. She was close now, _couldn't she just get the hint?_

"Could you _just listen_ to me?!" He felt the same hand that healed his wound grip his arm and spin him around forcefully, to face a ready to burst, water bender.

"Gods, Zuko! Why do you have to be so difficult?! Exclaimed the teenage girl, anger building now.

"_**I'm **being difficult?_" blurted Zuko.

"_Yes!" _Insisted Katara. _Here we go again_. Thought the aggravated Prince.

" YOU STUBBORN PEASENT! Yelled Prince Zuko at the top of his voice.

" YOU AGRROGANT _STUBBORN_ IDIOT! Retaliated Katara, equally as loudly.

Back at the camp Sokka sprang out of his sleeping bag; eyes snatched open looking around the dark campsite franticly. Aang also sat up; suddenly wide-awake searching the clearing for the reason his sleep was suddenly disturbed. Momo, chirped, alert, with his ears perked up on end.

"Did you hear that?" whispered Sokka to Aang.

"What was that?" said Aang.

"FILTHY WATER PEASEANT!"

"SPOLIED BRAT!"

"WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM WATERWENCH!?" growled Zuko, reaching full boiling point.

"YOU ARE!" answered his rival, her dark face bright red.

"WELL THEN DEAL WITH IT!" erupted Zuko, even though they were standing right next to each other.

"FINE! I WILL!" Bellowed Katara, as if trying to top the prince's yelling.

"YOU DO THAT THEN!" and the next thing you know, both teenagers are grabbing each other by the others face, their mouths colliding in a furry full of kisses, pouring all frustration and anger into the embrace.

"_Katara?"_ came the hurt voice of one particular avatar that had stumbled open the scene whilst trying to find the source of all the noise. _Obviously_ he had found it.

"ZUKO!" came a different voice from a certain raging over protective brother. Katara and Zuko hastily broke contact and looked at the two boys. Zuko's fingers still tangled in brown locks of hair and Katara's arm still gripping his shirt.

"_Oh no_…" moaned Zuko.

"This is _just too good_…good luck getting out of this one sugar Queen…" Mused a highly entertained blind earth bender. Her cloudy eyes still closed, still lying on her sleeping place at the campsite. She had heard the entire thing with her earth bending-enhanced hearing, now picturing everyone's expressions in her minds eye.

" _Priceless_…"

**Damn! Just when they were starting to get along! Oh well, that just how it is I guess…oh! Don't forget to review! Because reviews make my world go round!…and round and round and round…feeling very dizzy now…**


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